A test of county leadership: Do we want renewable energy or not?

On Aug. 8, the San Diego County Board of Supervisors will vote on the Tule Wind Power Project, the first of several major alternative energy projects planned for the region that, together, would go a long way in meeting our energy needs in a sustainable manner while providing significant economic benefits. This vote is a test of the county’s commitment to energy leadership and will establish whether we really want the numerous benefits of locally generated renewable energy.

The Tule Wind project – a 200-megawatt wind farm proposed on federal, county, state and Ewiiaapaayp Band of Kumeyaay Indian land in McCain Valley – will set the precedent for whether our region will move forward with renewable energy development.

Tule Wind will produce safe and reliable power for roughly 60,000 homes and reduce carbon emissions by nearly 250,000 metric tons per year. It will produce regionwide benefits and represents a significant step toward meeting the California mandate of 33 percent of energy from renewable resources by 2020. The project is also consistent with and will help advance the county’s own Climate Action Plan and General Plan policies.

The Tule Wind project’s developer, Iberdrola Renewables, has consistently exhibited best practices in working to mitigate impacts to the East County communities surrounding McCain Valley. The company has significantly reduced the project from its proposed size, met with hundreds of local residents, and pledged more than $4 million to local schools, museums, natural resources, cultural and health programs.

The Tule Wind project will provide San Diego County with approximately $3.5 million in annual property tax revenue, totaling $105 million over the project’s 30-year life. The project will support more than 915 jobs in the San Diego economy and $30 million in sales and use tax during the year of construction, and roughly $1 million per year in lease payments to local landowners.

The county Planning Commission has recommended that supervisors require the project’s transmission lines be dug underground to minimize visual impacts. At county staff’s request, Iberdrola Renewables modified the overhead facilities to allow other renewable projects in the area to co-locate their lines with the Tule project, and moved the lines adjacent to the Sunrise Powerlink transmission line, which would be in operation when Tule Wind was built. Overhead transmission lines will reduce impacts to Native American cultural sites and the environment should further energy projects be pursued in East County. The Planning Commission has also recommended that no turbines be built on county land, yet there are 62 turbines being built right next door on federal land.

San Diego County residents should understand the larger implications of the impending Board of Supervisors vote. McCain Valley is one of the few remaining quality wind sources in the San Diego region and in California. If the board vetoes this project, it is essentially saying “thanks, but no thanks” to all utility-scale wind and solar development in San Diego County. Other developers interested in San Diego County will learn from this project’s example, leaving San Diego and taking significant investment and the resulting power generation to more willing regions.

Renewable energy development continues to spark research, investment and commercialization worldwide. If we are serious about continuing to lead the transformation to renewable energy resources and driving innovation forward in San Diego County, we cannot reject this project.

The San Diego region’s clean-technology cluster, comprised of more than 800 companies ranging from startups to global brands, has made incredible strides in recent years and brought in billions of dollars via jobs and economic development. Declining to permit this project will jeopardize this transformative growth. We urge the Board of Supervisors to grant Iberdrola Renewables the requested permit, approve the five turbines on county land, and keep the transmission line overhead.

Smithson is president and chief operating officer of CleanTECH San Diego. Cafferty is president and chief executive officer of the San Diego Regional Economic Development Corp.